Meditations: On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life [Hardcover]

Thomas Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994 | ISBN-10: 0060172231 | ISBN-13: 978-0060172237 | Edition: 1st

Expanding on themes from Care of the Soul and Soul Mates, the author suggests ways of finding spirituality and nurturing the soul and explains how monastic traditions can enhance our secular lives. 150,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this small book, bestselling author Moore (Care of the Soul, etc.) makes a simple point: The monastic life offers lessons that, once learned, will enhance the spiritual dimension of daily life. He teaches this message in brief prose selections, which he calls "seeds," each of which highlights a particular virtue of monasticism that, if planted in the midst of worldly concerns and nurtured by careful practice, will reach fruition in the soul-centered life. From the example of the monk, as Moore narrates, we learn that a certain kind of work feeds the soul; that we need to become experts in emptiness; and that study amplifies the music of the world. This is not a book to read over from cover to cover; it is a book to carry around and savor in moments of individual meditation. BOMC and QPB alternates.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Drawing upon his experience as a monk, popular writer and speaker Moore (Care of the Soul, HarperCollins, 1992) contemplates the contributions of the monastic path of spirituality to the everyday search for the sacred. Illuminating meditations in the style of Nouwen and Merton explore the spiritual riches to be mined from the monastic disciplines of contemplation, celibacy, and solitude. Moore's lyrical prose enriches, guides, and enlightens readers seeking the sacred in the ordinary. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 107 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060172231
• ISBN-13: 978-0060172237
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,498,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Moore is the author of the bestselling book Care of the Soul and fifteen other books on deepening spirituality and cultivating soul in every aspect of life. He has been a monk, a musician, a university professor, and a psychotherapist, and today he lectures widely on holistic medicine, spirituality, psychotherapy, and ecology. He lectures frequently in Ireland and has a special love of Irish culture. He has Ph. D. in religion from Syracuse University and has won several awards for his work, including an honorary doctorate from Lesley University and the Humanitarian Award from Einstein Medical School of Yeshiva University. He also writes fiction and music and often works with his wife, artist and yoga instructor, Hari Kirin. He writes regular columns for Resurgence and Spirituality & Health and has recently published A Life at Work and Writing in the Sand. He is a patron of Re-Vision, a London center of spirituality and counseling, and on the board of Turning Point, a bereavement counselors training program in Dublin, Ireland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The spirit of the monk- the soul-centered life in the midst of the world, December 19, 2005

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OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Meditations: On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life (Hardcover)

I am embarrassed to admit that when I purchased this book I thought that it dealt with the meditations of St. Thomas MORE. However, this was a fortuitous mistake since it introduced me to an author that seemed to be perfectly in tune with my own reflections. This is because I understood intuitively what he was talking about in suggesting that it was possible to live the life of the monk, the contemplative, in modern mundane life. I understood what he meant by a life of simplicity and inner quiet. We can keep our souls uncluttered by the dross and corruption of the outside world- we are the gatekeepers of our own souls. A monastery or an order are, after all, material things, stones and rules; while an actual sacred place, a temenos, is the result deep inner work. That is the natural work of the monk- soul work. It is this work that restores meaning to creation and connection to the creator. Only then can the heart clearly observe of the signs of divine Providence. Only then, as Emerson said, does "everything become a sign."

Just the fact that this book shows that there is another, legitimate way of living in the world is refreshing. After all, both the monk and the criminal reject the values of the greater society- the modern world seems to equate the two at times.

I've read this little book three times over the years and it always rejuvenates me. Of course the author draws from so many rich sources: Aurelius, Orpheus, Ficino, Bruno, Emerson, Dickinson, Basho, Rilke, Merton, the Dalai Lama and, yes, St. Thomas More.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good things come in small packages..., May 23, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Meditations: On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life (Paperback)

Thomas Moore, better known for books such as `Care of the Soul' and `Soul Mates', compiled this brief collection of meditations, aptly entitled `Meditations: On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life'. Most of us obviously do not live in monasteries; few of us even consider monastic spirituality or practice in our daily lives.

Moore was slated early for a life of reflection, but soured on religious practice and observance early. He entered a preparatory seminary at age 13 to become a priest, but found that the tendency toward authoritarianism was a bit too much (a common trait with prophets and saints throughout much of history).

`When I finally left the order, I left most of religion behind. I lived as an agnostic of sorts for a while. In my monastery days I had studied music seriously and had written and directed a considerable amount of music, and so, once out of the order, I planned on the life of an academic musician. Unexpectedly, my love of theology and religion stayed with me.'

Having put some distance between the formal structures and his own life, over time he has come to an important realisation.

`In my life now both the priesthood and the monastic life are made of subtle stuff--not literal ways of life, but possibilities powdered so finely that they have become values, nuances, styles, and elements of character giving my life a certain tone and colour.'

Moore's meditative reflections are each less than one page long, which make them ideal both for rapid study (recommended only if you're going to come back to them later) as well as for small, bite-sized meditative morsels to slowly appreciate and inwardly digest.

`The monk lives according to the advice of Marsilio Ficino--partly in time, partly in eternity. Whatever is done is never fully of this world, and yet it's always in this world. We could all live partly out of this world, and perhaps discover the limits of worldly law and convention.'

In talking of different themes -- silence, hospitality, charity, prayer, music, God, humanity -- Moore interjects insights of his own and those he has inherited from friends, mentors, teachers, and history.

This book makes a perfect gift book; a wonderful, thoughtful book for short meditations; it is a great thing to carry around for reflective periods during the day.

Sometimes a monk, used to chanting, will suddenly strike upon a note that lingers, that stays with the soul in the ear for longer than usual. Perhaps this is the voice of God speaking. As we go about our daily lives, perhaps the common detail that assumes a new proportion -- has a little more resonance -- is God's way of trying to speak to us.

Let this book be an opening to that awareness.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meditations By Former Monk who still Teaches..., November 16, 2003

By 

Fred W Hood "barbara377" (Fayetteville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Meditations: On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life (Hardcover)

In reading Soul Mates and Care of the Soul I was distinctly taken back to my time of 'Doing CPE.' In realizing the deeper values of taking care of the Soul, I have made it a practise of staying close to former Monks who teach me about contemplation and meditation. I point out 2 quotes.

"A Pilgrim was walking along a road, when he passed a monk sitting in a field...seeing men working on a stone building...he said to the monk, "Who is that working on the abbey?" Answered, "My monks. I'm the abbot."
"It's good to see a monastery going up." said the Pilgrim. "They're tearing it down," said the abbot."
"Whatever for!" asked the Pilgrim.
"So we can see the sun rise at dawn," said the abbot.

As another pointed reading appears twice I will also abbreviate: "Sometimes in their chanting, monks will land upon a note and sing it in florid fashion; a syllable of text for 50 notes of chant. Melisma, they call it. Living a melismatic life in imitation of plain-chant, we stop on an experience, a place, a person, or a memory and rhapsodize in imagination! I believe these two examples say volumes about Thomas Moore as Teacher.
Retired Chap Fred W Hood